Drummaul Old Graveyard

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Circular plan burial mound containing stone and marble grave markers dating from 17th century to c.2000, enclosed by a rubble stone wall and containing the ruins of an early church building and many mature trees.

Set on a hill overlooking the surrounding landscape, the grassy mound is accessed off a private avenue to the residence of the owner of the farm containing the burial mound. A pair of rendered walls with a cattle grid and a further steel gate open onto the road. A concrete roadway ascends the hill and encircles the mound on its way to the farm house.

Access to the burial mound is through a pair of circular rubble stone piers with rubble stone conical capstones support a mid twentieth century steel pedestrian gate and a further early twentieth century turnstile gate. The majority of the stone grave markers date from the early to late 19th century and conform to the neo-classical designs of the time. Some of the 19th century grave stones have their plots enclosed by cast and wrought-iron railings. Dispersed throughout are some early grave markers dating from the 17th century with the lettering formed in relief. The remains of an early church structure is located to the western part of the mound with only rubble stones and some brick remaining. The mound is enclosed by a dry rubble stone wall and native hedgerow, while the mound contains a variety of native mature trees including many Irish yew trees. The mound appears to have a basic maintenance regime in place.

Historical information

The graveyard has stones and markers dating back to the seventeenth century. It is first recorded on the 1833 OS map. On the 1857 map, a building to the centre of site is marked “Site of Drummaul Church.”

The graveyard is also recorded on the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s Sites and Monuments Record (Ant 043:003). It lies on the site of a medieval church, of which there are some remains, and an Early Christian bullaun described in the OS memoirs (p.34) . Lewis in his Topographical Description of Ireland (1837) describes the remains of this church as ancient. The local area witnessed two major conflicts: “During the revolution of 1688, this parish [of Drummaul] was frequently the head-quarters of the Earl of Antrim's regiment, which marched hence to the attack of Londonderry; and in the disturbances of 1798, the insurgents were driven from Antrim into Randalstown, in this parish, by the king's troops.”

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/43/1, 1st Edition OS Map, Co Antrim, 1833
2. PRONI OS/6/1/43/2, 2nd Edition OS Map, Co Antrim, 1857
3. OS Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of Co Antrim VI 1830, 1833, 1835-38 (South west Antrim) Vol 19

Secondary Sources

1. Lewis, Samuel. A Topographical Description of Ireland (London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837)
2. Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record Ant 043:003 SM7 file (unpublished).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A picturesque burial site covering many centuries of local history, this burial mound contains a large variety of stone and marble grave markers showing the evolution of skill and style in the manufacture of grave markers.